Julia Christine Botin

What party-lists should be proclaimed?: Comelec says studying options after cancellation of Duterte Youth registration

Article (news)

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) -- The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday tasked its law department to study its options should the Supreme Court (SC) uphold their decision cancelling the Duterte Youth’s accreditation as party-list.Garcia told reporters that the Comelec en banc’s decision would be final and executory within 30 days since this was promulgated.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/29/comelec-en-banc-upholds-cancellation-of-duterte-youth-party-list-registration-1012">READ: Comelec en banc upholds cancellation of Duterte Youth party-list registration</a></div>“Nangangahulugan sa 30 araw na yun, mayroon kaming pagkakataon na mapag-aralan mabuti ang implikasyon ng naturang desisyon, sino talaga ang pauupuin namin? Kami ba ay kukuha sa nasa taas o kukuha kami sa mga nasa baba?” Garcia said at the sidelines of their en banc in Palacio del Gobernador.Garcia said they received a letter from the House Secretary-General on the matter, but noted they still need guidance on whether there should be 63 or 64 seats – in compliance with the constitutionality of the 20th Congress’ composition.“Sapagkat ang 63 ay 19 point something lang ng kabuuan ng mga miyembro ng House. Sa ating Saligang Batas, ang ating partylist ay dapat – shall be 20 percent. Hindi ito puwedeng bumaba ng 20 percent. It can only be 20 percent or above,” he said.This was why he said they arrived to the conclusion that there should be 64 seats in the House of Representatives – approved by the Comelec en banc.“Sabi namin, kinakailangang konsultahin namin ang House of Representatives kung ito ba ay papayagan nila. Ang sabi sa amin ng House, ito ay absolute discretion ng Comelec at ministerial lamang ang duty ng House of Representatives na tumanggap ng certificates of proclamation coming from the Comelec,” he said.But the poll chief said they still need to consult their law department vis-a-vis the cancellation of Duterte Youth’s registration as party-list and who among the unproclaimed party-list groups would benefit from the circumstance.It will be better, he said, if they will proclaim the winning party-list groups in just one event but emphasized there is no final ruling yet from the Supreme Court on the matter.“Magandang mahintay yan. Although pag lumampas ang 30 araw pagtapos ng paglalabas ng desisyon ng Comelec, magiging pinal at pwede nang ipatupad ang aming desisyon,” he said.<div> </div><div>DUTERTE YOUTH FILES PETITION FOR CERTIORARI</div>This afternoon, Duterte Youth filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court questioning the Comelec’s decision, saying the poll body &quot;bastardized the law.&quot;In its petition, the group urged the High Court to grant them a special raffle &quot;to address the urgency of the matter promptly&quot; and for the SC to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Comelec’s ruling. &quot;Hindi raw tayo rehistrado sa Comelec. Paano nangyari yun? (JC) Kalaban ko dati yung senior commissioner doon, kung nakita niya yan, tinanggal na kami dati pa,&quot; said former Duterte Youth Partylist representative Ronald Cardema. &quot;Nakalagay sa party-list law, section 5, registration – the comelec shall publish. Kung hindi nila inutos, paano namin mahuhulaan? (JC 8:36) Sa tingin ko, kahit ayaw niyo sa Duterte Youth partylist, gusto niyo na kahit isang kongresista diyan na nagbabalik ng death penalty para sa lahat ng kurakot at plunderer sa bansang ito,&quot; he said. Last week, the Comelec en banc junked Duterte Youth’s motion for reconsideration, saying it should be denied for lack of merit.&quot;It is evident that the motion failed to raise any valid or substantial ground to warrant a reconsideration of the assailed resolution,&quot; the resolution read. Duterte Youth won 3 congressional seats after garnering over 2 million votes in the May polls, but Comelec suspended its proclamation due to pending cases.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday tasked its law department to study its options should the Supreme Court (SC) uphold their decision cancelling the Duterte Youth’s accreditation as party-list.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday tasked its law department to study its options should the Supreme Court (SC) uphold their decision cancelling the Duterte Youth’s accreditation as party-list.